The invention relates to riding gear and, more particularly, to a stirrup for use with a riding saddle, especially a western equestrian riding saddle.
The traditional western riding stirrup helps dictate the position of the rider""s body and legs while also providing a base of support for the rider. Stirrups are generally used in pairs, with one stirrup hanging on stirrup leathers on each side of the saddle. The stirrups hang from the saddle in position to accept the rider""s feed when the rider is sitting in the saddle. Each stirrup includes generally a hanger for connecting to the stirrup leathers, two lateral sides, and a base or tread portion on which the rider""s foot actually rests.
Traditionally, a new rider assumes a sitting position in a western saddle and adjusts the stirrup leather length in an attempt to place the bottom or base of each stirrup where it provides the most stability to the rider. Over an extended period of practice, the rider then learns to adjust their foot, leg, and body position to facilitate an acceptable horsemanship quality to the riding position.
There have been many variations in western stirrups. Common variations include variations in the length and width of the tread or base portion of the stirrup. In all of the numerous prior art variations in riding stirrups, however, the rider""s weight was unevenly distributed on their feet. Specifically, straddling the horse placed greater pressure on the outer most side of the rider""s feet and toes. This uneven pressure on the stirrups often resulted in numbness in the feet, knee, ankle, foot, and leg pain, blisters and general riding discomfort.
Traditional saddles were, and still are, built with a rearward seat pocket and the stirrup leathers hung generally forward on the saddle to allow riders to more easily spread their knees and adjust their leg and foot position to lessen the pressure on the outer edge of each foot. However, this solution to the problem of uneven pressure on prior art stirrups severely degraded the rider""s balance. The more pressure that is added to the stirrups to control balance, the more torque is generated, on the feet, to force the riders"" knees in toward the horse. The riders"" balance is adversely affected since the rider""s center of gravity is raised significantly.
The vertical balance saddle which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,889 severely, and by design, restricted the ability of the rider to adjust in the saddle. The saddle forces a pre-defined, good, and effective horsemanship position in the saddle. However, the riding position causes the base (sole) of the rider""s feet to tip (horizontally) with the outer edge of each foot considerably lower (closer to the ground) than the inside edge of the foot. These same conditions were also evident to a lesser extent in prior western equestrian saddles.
It is an object of the invention to provide a riding stirrup which overcomes the above-described problems associated with stirrups used with riding saddles, particularly western riding saddles.
A riding stirrup according to the invention includes a hanger rod for connecting the stirrup to a saddle, and a stirrup loop connected to the hanger rod. The stirrup loop defines a stirrup opening through which a rider may extend their foot when the rider is sitting in the saddle. The stirrup loop includes an elongated base support tread positioned generally at the bottom of the loop. According to the invention, the base support tread extends at a slant with respect to a stirrup centerline which extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the hanger rod, through a midpoint of the rod, and through the base support tread. That is, unlike prior art stirrups, the base support tread according to the present invention does not extend perpendicular to the stirrup centerline.
The base support tread may be thought of as having an inner tread section and an outer tread section. The inner tread section is positioned nearest the horse when the stirrup is in the operating position and is adapted to support the inside of the rider""s foot. The outer tread section is farther away from the horse when the stirrup is in the operating position and provides a surface for supporting the outside of the rider""s foot. The slant of the base support tread is such that the distance between the inner tread section and hanger rod is less than the distance between the hanger rod and outer tread section. That is, considering a horizontal plane positioned above the level of the base support tread, the base support tread slants away from the plane in the direction from the inner tread section toward the outer tread section.
The inner tread section defines an inner angle with the stirrup centerline which is less than an outer angle defined between the outer tread section and the stirrup centerline. In the preferred form of the invention in which the inner tread section is coplanar with the outer tread section, the inner angle comprises an acute angle whereas the outer angle comprises an obtuse angle.
The angled stirrup base tread according to the invention provides a substantial increase in the rider""s balance. The rider""s feet more generally fit flat against the base portion of the stirrup giving the rider a very noticeable sense of increased security in the saddle. Also, the rider""s center of gravity is lowered since the knees are no longer torqued severely inwardly toward the horse. The riding stirrups according to the invention also help eliminate numbness and pain in the outer edges of the rider""s feet and toes, as well as discomfort in the rider""s ankles and legs.
When the stirrup according to the present invention is used with a traditional western saddle or the improved saddle described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,889 many of the riding instruction techniques used over the years in western riding become unnecessary. That is, the present stirrups dictate many of the correct horsemanship riding position characteristics and eliminate the necessity for the rider to constantly adjust in the saddle to retain a proper riding position.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, considered along with the accompanying drawings.